by J.L. Eck

Created on: March 14, 2010

The old saying goes, "A bad day of fishing is better than any day of working."  However, the difference between a good day out fishing and a great day of catching fish can be as simple as doing a little research before the big fishing expedition.  Trolling the local fishing reports for the preferred fishing destination is a great way to up the odds of catching the bag limit.

The DNR, or Department of Natural Resources is a great place to start the search for the fishing report for a desired destination.  A quick Google search with the keyword "DNR" and the state in which one lives, if living within the United States, will bring up the results for that state's branch of the Department of Natural Resources.  Although each state's site will be different, they will all have links to fishing resources which will usually lead to an up-to-date overview of the fish types and quantities for the desired area.  Searching within the site will also be an option.  This will help to narrow the search if need be.

Sites that are related to paper magazines such as The In-Fisherman will also have links to local fishing reports.  Often times, though, there will be more advertisements for fishing outfits and equipment than actual information about fishing the lake or stream preferred.  Browsing articles about given types of fish or bodies of water is possible at most magazine websites, however, some require membership fees.  It is truly unnecessary to pay a fee for this type of information as there are plenty of available resources for free.

More personal fishing reports will come from the fishermen and women who have actually fished at the destination.  Sites such as BassDozer and Reel Reports have links to hundreds of fishing forums, some dedicated to the country, state, or city,  and some are strictly for discussing a certain variety of fish such as Bass or Walleye.  At forums such as these one can gain more personal information about the body of water or type of fish one wants to chat about.  Many of such sites also have the option of sign up for updates via e-newsletter which can be helpful year-round.

When none of the above results satisfy the individual's information needs, one can enter the name of the desired body of water or type of fish into a search.  The search can be narrowed with the zip code of the fishing destination or combination of city and state, or province/country. There are literally thousands of options to choose from in order to increase the odds of catching a "Whopper!"  ...Just don't forget the rod and reel!  

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